In “Believing in Mind,” Seng-ts’an, the Third Patriarch of Zen, conveys the loss one suffers by getting caught up in life’s dualities: The Great Way knows no impediments; It does not pick and choose. When you abandon attachment and aversion You see it plainly; Make a thousandth of an inch distinction, Heaven and earth spring apart. If you want it to appear before your eyes, Cherish neither “for” nor “against.” To compare what you like with what you dislike, That is the disease of the mind. Then you pass over the hidden meaning; Peace of mind is needlessly troubled.
